The History of Manistique: Rebuilding Through Devastation

 Its interesting because histories in the U.P. are long and are not that far removed from our roots. Many times downtowns look similar to what they did 100's of years ago. We are a hardy people who have become accustomed to rural wood like living on the Great Lakes. 

Buffalo Shooting Shows Why Challenging Hate is Not a Waste of Time

Signs of extremism are often present and easy to detect if one knows the behavior characteristics (Its not race or religion specific). I have advocated for early intervention through mental health avenues to code and understand bigger issues that have led to situations such as the Buffalo shooting and the sacking of our Capitol. As with many important issues we face it isn't of concern unless it impacts our political elite in some way and typically by then their bat swing is beyond the ball. 

My family and I have been subjected to targeting by a group of ex mediocre sports players from 30 years ago who were supported by what appears to be local  corruption among a few close associate officers of the group (Most are good people but are socialized to blindly support their friends leaving them in the passive support category. That's a soft problem to solve. I have some ideas on it.).  

Multiple incidents of racial slurs and provocative aggressive behaviors that could have led to violence under the wrong mix of personalities, alcohol/drugs (EQ helped here).  The situation highlighted prior uninvestigated concerns that were not taken seriously and in turn not opening an avenue to discovering important clues that may lead to unveiling of deeper issues (Maybe something of maybe nothing 🤷).  

The danger of lone wolf supporters of "my town" mentality have persisted up until at least a few months ago; and likely continues on. We seem to lack the moral courage to universalize our values and tackle thorny issues like this until it's too late. Hate has no place in modern America but persist under passive support.  

The backward values that persist among some in our hometowns and political spectrums should not be pushed to the helm of deciding our domestic affairs. At least that is if we care about the long term health of the nation.  I guess we should decide if our nation belongs to all of us or some of us.

I say America is about freedom rallied around core values we all share. It's for all of us! Some may disagree and actively work to create societal schisms 🤔

Supreme Court Abortion Opinion Leak-Cool or Not Cool?

Let me say that I don't think it is a good idea to leak information out of drafts because they are unfinished opinions and thoughts. While an investigation is likely to determine who did it and what their motives are I'm leaning on the side of "Not cool".  It was a misuse of inside information and appears designed to cause serious harm to an institution. Just because someone has a personal and political perspective doesn't mean they have the right to cause chaos and/or undermine the trust in their position (It looks on the surface like a bad Karma move). 

You can read the article 'Clarence Thomas says abortion leak has changed Supreme Court' 

Its sad but I believe this person should be held to account. We see radicalism growing on different fronts (Republicans and Democrats) and perspectives and its difficult getting a handle on it. It wasn't long ago I was also a target of bullies (and in some cases bigots) and that is not always an easy thing to deal with. This leaked draft is a place where the laws may need to be applied once the culprit and saboteur is found. 

There are differences between mistakes and actions designed to intentionally cause societal commotion on unfinished pieces of work. Its not an argument for or against abortion. I have my own opinion but it an argument that when you work with people you should be able to trust them. Hype politics is starting to cause problems in many or our institutions and this is something our leadership needs to think about. (...all three sides. There is a third sleeping side there that may emerge at some point in the future based on the need for a new version of critical thinking/rationalism and the ability to sell that to the general population. )

Either way...I lean on the side of not cool! 👎👎👎

Invest UP: UP Businesses Want to Increase Population and Boost Economy

 The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a place where small towns reside and a high quality of living is experienced. Its not necessarily about super high paying jobs but about the emersion in nature and the friendly small town vibe. That being said their is room for additional jobs and work. It looks like some of the larger businesses are trying to make some changes. 

Read the article Large UP businesses look to increase population, boost economy to understand some of the ideas that are coming forward. 

One approach they are thinking about is retaining more of the 21,000 higher education students across the Upper Peninsula. I think that is a good strategy. You can read about InvestUP. 

I also think there are other strategies that might work such as a attracting small business, job placement locally when they are near graduation (would likely help much if they have a reason to stay), and thinking out of the box on how the Internet, global environment and small communities can create clusters to attract investment/jobs 

Pence and Trump Part Ways in Georgia: Where are They Going Next?

There is an internal debate going in in the GOP over who will back who and where the party is heading. Currently Trump is the leading candidate but there are others within the party that want something different. These are also big donors and powerful people so the party will be moving in two different support directions that will be further highlighted in the primary races. You can read more about this in the NPR article by Deepa Shivaram entitled, 'Pence will rally for Georgia Gov. Kemp, defying Trump, who backs David Perdue'

Pence will support Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Trump will Support David Perdue (I know its part of the title above.). 

Its an interesting race. That is why I encourage GOP to be neutral from the beginning because ultimately the people have sort of decide who would be their top leaders. That will influence the nature of politics and the direction of the nation. 

Why Its Important for the GOP Leadership to Stay Neutral in Party Debate

To Trump or not to Trump? GOP Engaged in Internal Battles

Mitch McConnel Seeks Purge-GOP at Historical Crossroads

Pence Starts to Mount The Elephant: One boot in the stirrups and one hand on the saddle

Ohio River: Flooded this time of year

Checking out a few food joints off the Ohio River. Seems flooded. Probably part of the spring. This is a small river leading to the larger Ohio River. A cool little casual bar. Harrods Creek Tavern

M777 Howitzer 155mm in Ukraine to Increase Range

The Howitzer in Ukraine will influence the battle especially if it forces Russian artillery out of range. That will require commitment by troops and in smaller batches. Supplies will also be slowed down to the front lines also needing to be delivered in smaller batches. Ukrainians still have an issue with planes and bombing so there will need to be additional protection from this thereby limiting air superiority. Once they are shielded/covered it is a numbers and strategy issue until something new is inserted (Beware of small scale tactical nukes and chemical weapons as Russian contingency. More Russian troops would eventually impact support for the conflict in Russia.). Germany and Netherlands are also providing Howitzers to increase range. 

(FYI on equipment in the Digital Era military technologies. As equipment develops there should always be independent manual overrides. The old way and easier to use by those that aren't highly trained.).